1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to panel assemblies, and more particularly to a method, utilizing computer aided design, for creating a panel assembly in such a way that basic components of an assembly drawing can be retained and modified whenever the system to be controlled and illustrated in the panel assembly is modified. The method utilizes digital graphical representations of a layout of the system and a layout overlay of centers for circle areas on the system layout stored in a computer memory. The circle areas are designed to be illuminated to indicate the status of an element in the system to be controlled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore layouts of systems to be controlled were created by hand by draftsmen and then center areas for elements to be illuminated in the layout to indicate a particular status of the element were transferred from the layout to a panel. The holes were drilled through the panel for receiving light emitting means.
Typically, whenever the system was modified it was necessary to create a new layout from the old layout manually by hand and then to make new holes in a new panel for the original elements retained and new elements added for which a status indicating light was required.
Usually, the original panel was thrown out and not used in a construction of the new panel. This was most often the case when the manufacturer of the panel assembly was located at a distance from the user of the panel assembly in a control unit.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the method for forming a panel assembly and the panel assembly formed thereby of the present invention utilizing computer aided design enables an originally created panel assembly to be modified and updated without the need to destroy the original panel assembly. This is accomplished by providing an overlay of centers for the circle areas on the layout of the system to be controlled for indicating the status of an element of the system and storing the graphic representation of the system layout and the overlay layout of the centers in a memory such as in a hard disk or a floppy disk in a computer. Then, when the panel assembly is updated, both the layout of the system to be controlled as well as the overlay layout of the centers is updated and the layout of the centers is provided to the customer so that the customer can drill new holes in one or two panels of a panel assembly for the new elements that have been added to the system and for which status indicating lights are required. Also, a new layout of the system to be controlled is provided for mounting to the outer face of an outer panel of the panel assembly. The layout of centers enables holes to be accurately drilled in the outer panel through which light can be directed for illuminating circle areas of elements of the system and whereby new light emitting means can be mounted in the new holes drilled into an inner panel of the panel assembly. In this way, existing panel assemblies constructed according to the teachings of the present invention can be modified as desired without the need to construct a completely new panel assembly.
Examples of prior art housing and panel constructions are disclosed in the following patent publications.
An instrument housing and support is disclosed in the Bright U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,871.
A container for a telephone network interface device is disclosed in the Hampton U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,032.
The Gouverneur French Patent No. 756,120 discloses indicating instruments of a control system mounted at positions behind openings in a hingedly mounted front panel.
A device for mounting an LED to a graphic panel is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-122788.